Planning Board Meeting Minutes – Thursday January 12, 2006
Members present: Maggie Leonard presiding, Brian Puntin, Beth King, Cindy Hoogs, Stephen Rose, Wayne Burkhart
Maggie called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. There was no new business from the public.
The first discussion concerned improvement of communication with the Select Board. A letter from Jerome J. Scully, Town Counsel, was reviewed. The Planning Board agreed that the protocol defined in the letter was already understood as to the public versus private nature of governmental bodies and had always been followed. As the letter clearly stated that (n)othing in Section 23B (of the General Laws, Chapter 39 of Massachusetts) prohibits an individual member form having discussion with anyone regarding general matters or Planning Board issues,” there was no contentious issue.
The Planning Board received a grant of sixty five hundred dollars from the Office of Community Development and used it for the services of land-use planning consultant, Joe Russell.
The Board agreed that it would serve the best interests of the community to have Maggie Leonard write an account of Planning Board activities for the Monterey News. It was also noted that a Public Meeting would be held on January 23 at 7:00p.m. in order to air the community response to the creation of affordable housing units in Monterey.
The Board reviewed the bylaws for sign permits. The bylaw states that permission first must be granted through the Planning Board and then enforced by the Building Inspector. This procedure has not been carried out, probably due to a faulty application document; therefore, the bylaw and the practice have not been consistent. Adding a line for the Planning Board Chair’s signature as authorizing agent on the online application was proposed.
The Board reviewed that the status of an ADU by law includes a kitchen; and it was agreed that clarification of the ADU bylaws in Monterey was essential for the development of a Master Plan. The Board will set the standard for “by right” ADU permits, and nonconforming proposals will be considered for special permits.
A tentative time line for the Master Plan was explored, and will be worked backwards from April 18. Maggie reported that the preliminary research of 2003 constitutes approximately sixty per cent of the finished document that will be provided to the region and the state. In order to expedite the remaining work, the Board decided to consult Rob Hoogs, who was instrumental in developing a Master Plan for Great Barrington, for information on “what else is necessary to complete the Master Plan for Monterey.”
There was no discussion of the ZBA rulings, as that board did not convene
Members were reminded of the coming May elections and the location of the new mailbox.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Esther Heffernan
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